Orange pauses school construction, Manatee fires superintendent and St. Johns hires one, and more

Around the state: Declining enrollment prompts the Orange County School District to announce a four-year pause in new school construction, Manatee’s school board fires its superintendent and St. Johns’ board hires one, another 600-plus books the state has called “pornographic” are removed from Hillsborough school libraries, plans for a 1,300-student charter high school in Pasco are dead, and an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis is named the interim president of Pasco-Hernando State College. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:

Miami-Dade: An English teacher at Hialeah Senior High School has been arrested and accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. School district police said Misael Gonzalez, 55, has been charged with lewd and lascivious battery and molestation. District officials said they have begun termination proceedings. WTVJ. WPLG. WSVN.

Hillsborough: As many as 600 more books have been removed from school district libraries under pressure from state officials who called them “patently pornographic.” School attorney Jim Porter said nearly 390,000 of the district’s 2-million-plus books have been removed from libraries since 2022, and officials will continue to “actively review” the collections to comply with state laws. Tampa Bay Times.

Orange: New school construction in the district is being paused for four years because of the continuing decline in enrollment. Twenty-eight schools have been opened in the past 10 years, but only one will open this year and two in 2026. After that, the district has no plans for any new schools before 2031. “We don’t want to open up empty schools,” said Rory Salimbene, the district’s chief facilities officer. Enrollment projections show a decline of 3,100 next year before stabilizing in 2027 and starting to grow again four years later. Orlando Sentinel. WKMG.

Palm Beach: Students from Jupiter Community High SchoolSouth Tech Academy and the Adult and Community Education program received diplomas at graduation ceremonies Tuesday. Palm Beach Post.

Polk: Students from Lakeland High School and Harrison School for the Arts received diplomas in recent graduation ceremonies. Lakeland Ledger.

Lee: East Lee County High School students received their diplomas in a graduation ceremony this week. Fort Myers News-Press.

Pinellas: A review of e-mails and other documents suggests that Superintendent Kevin Hendrick and other district leaders were informed in February that Police Chief Luke Williams intended to deputize school police officers to help immigration officers detain and arrest anyone with a federal deportation order. After the district’s intentions were reported in March and parents and residents protested, Hendrick said Williams acted in error and without approval from him or the school board. The 74. Vlada Kozhevnikova, a 12-year-old 6th-grader at the Pinellas Academy of Math & Science, is one of 12 Florida students competing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship next week. WTSP.

Pasco: More than a year in the planning and three weeks after getting approval from the school board to begin construction on a charter high school in the Trinity area, the Patel Foundation for Global Understanding has killed the project. Director Chad Toujague said he was uneasy about the direction of the 1,300-student school. “It got so tight on the timeline,” he said. “There was no way anyone here felt good about delivering by August of next year.” District Superintendent John Legg said he turned down a foundation request to renegotiate the terms of the deal. “Basically we just both walked away,” Legg said. “It was just a partnership that did not come to fruition.” Tampa Bay Times.

Manatee: Superintendent Jason Wysong was fired in a 3-2 vote by school board members on Tuesday. Wysong, who was hired in July 2023, was dismissed without cause and will receive 20 weeks of severance pay and stay on as a consultant during the district’s search for a replacement. A board majority found fault with Wysong’s leadership style and lack of communication. Wysong said he regretted if he did not meet the board’s expectations but added, “At the end of the day, I will leave with my integrity intact if that’s what you want. It’s been a privilege to serve.” Executive director of administration Kevin Chapman was named interim superintendent. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. WUSF. WWSB. WFLA. WTSP. Your Observer. Students from Bayshore and Manatee high schools recently were presented diplomas during graduation ceremonies. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

St. Johns: A longtime district administrator and former superintendent in Sarasota County for two years was unanimously hired by the school board Tuesday to run the district. Brennan Asplen is currently the district’s deputy superintendent. He will replace the retiring Tim Forson. Jacksonville Today. WJXT. WJAX. Students from Investing in Kids’ Take Stock in Children program recently received their diplomas. St. Augustine Record.

Sarasota: Garden Elementary School in North Port will be rebuilt, district officials announced this week when providing an update on work being done to address concerns about mold at the school. Construction on the $81 million project is expected to begin in a few weeks. The two-story school will be built beside the current school, which will then be torn down. Charlotte Sun.

Escambia: Students from Booker T. Washington and West Florida high schools have designed two artificial reefs that will soon be resting on the bottom of the Gulf. A nonprofit, Coastal Conservation Association, made the $50,000 donation to support the county’s artificial reef education program. Pensacola News Journal.

Leon: Students from Lincoln High School in Tallahassee received their diplomas in a graduation ceremony this week. Tallahassee Democrat.

Alachua: Firing and hiring school superintendents has preoccupied the attention of a district and school board where no one has served more than three years since 2013, and the current interim leader is the fourth in the past five years. The churn has also been expensive, with severance packages, higher salaries and search costs all escalating at a time when finances are already stretched. WUFT.

Bay: Mosley High School seniors received their diplomas in a graduation ceremony this week. Panama City News Herald.

Colleges and universities: An ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis has been hired as interim president of Pasco-Hernando State College. Eric Hall, currently secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, was a finalist in the college’s 2023 search for a president. Jesse Pisors was chosen then, but he resigned earlier this month as the state’s Department of Government Efficiency was looking into operations. Tampa Bay Times.

Around the nation: Half of the country’s states now regulate students’ use of cell phones during the school day, and the list is expected to continue to grow. Florida had already banned the use of phones during instructional time, and a new bill awaiting Gov. DeSantis’ approval would tighten that even further by prohibiting elementary and middle school students from using phones during the school day. Associated Press.

Opinions on schools: A one-size-fits-all graduation speech for our deportation times. Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post.


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BY NextSteps staff